Brands

Janome

Janome is a Japanese company, founded in 1921. The name Janome, translated from Japanese means “snake’s eye” – this was taken from the appearance of the round bobbin system, developed in 1935. Initially, the company was called The Pine Sewing, until it got rebranded.

Janome is also famous for leading the way with innovation in these machines – they established a research laboratory in Tokyo in 1964 and released the first ever computerized sewing machine in 1971.

This company was also the first to develop a computerized machine for home use – the machine was called “Memory 7” and it was released onto the market in 1979. Some of their most notable machines are the Memory Craft 8000 (released in 1990., famous for being the first professional machine meant for home market, ever) and the Memory Craft 6500P (the first machine for home used to offer a long-arm quilting feature).

Today, Janome is a world-famous brand that has expanded into over 100 countries.

Brother International Corporation was established in 1955., as the first overseas affiliate of the Yasui Sewing Machine Co. Three years later, a European regional sales company was established in Ireland, but the companies corporate name was finally changed to Brother Industries Ltd. In 1962. Brother’s UK headquarters are in Audenshaw, Manchester.

Today, Brother is one of the leading embroidery and sewing machine companies in the world. They are practically dominating the online market and websites like Amazon and eBay are flooded with their products – and for a good reason. Brother’s embroidery and sewing machines are a combination of traditional and modern features, clever design and high performance.

Brother sponsored Manchester City Football Club for 12 years – this is one of the longest sponsorship deals of an English football club, ever.

Singer

Singer Corporation is arguably the best-known sewing machine manufacturer in the world. Singer is practically synonymous with sewing machines, everywhere around the world. Founded in 1851 by Isaac Merritt Singer and Edward Clark, and headquartered in La Vergne, Tennessee, USA, Singer has been continually revolutionizing the industry for decades.

Singer was the first company to mass market sewing machines, but they were also marketing innovators, pioneering in promoting the use of instalment plans.

Interestingly, during World War II, Singer suspended sewing machine production and took on government contracts for weapon manufacturing. Singer factories based in the United States supplied the American forces during WWII, with bomb sights and rifle receivers, while their factories in Germany provided their air forces with weapons.

In 1939., thanks to the educational order program set up by the American government, Singer started producing pistols – original Singer pistols are collectable and sell for up to 60 000$ today.

After the war, the company shifted its focus back to sewing machines and it has stuck to it till this day. Their machines are high quality devices – some of them are meant for home use, some are professional, but they’re still one of the best-known sewing machine brands in the world.

Melco

Melco Holdings Inc. is a Japanese family business, founded by Makoto Maki in 1975. The name Melco name stands for Maki Engineering Laboratory Company. Headquartered in Nagoya, Melco Holdings Inc. specializes in producing hard disks, flash memory products and personal computer components.

Americans may know the company by a different name – Buffalo Inc. is one of the 14 subsidiaries of Melco, originally founded as an audio equipment manufacturer. The name Buffalo itself is derived from one of company’s most famous products – a printer buffer.

Today, slowly but surely, Melco is finding their place on the embroidery and sewing machine market. Their products have recently become quite popular and their unique embroidery machines and embroidery machine accessories are now selling better than ever.

Tacony (Baby Lock)

Founded in 1946. and headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri, Tacony Corporation is a family owned and operated wholesale distributor of sewing and embroidery machines, vacuum cleaners, ceiling fans and floor care equipment.

The story of Tacony Corporation is a typical American Dream tale. In 1946., a mechanic named Nick Tacony began selling and servicing sewing machines from his basement. A few years later, he expanded his business and started wholesaling sewing machine parts and similar accessories to retailers in the Midwest. The business grew and with the acquisition of two competitors on the East Coast, the company started further growing and developing.

In 1970., Nick’s son Ken Tacony joined the business and later became the CEO of the company. He has overseen the company’s rapid growth into one of the largest distributors of ceiling fans, vacuum cleaners and sewing machines in the United States.

Tacony Corporation’s brands are divided into 4 different business units: Sewing, Commercial Floor Care, Home Floor Care, and Ceiling Fans & Lighting. Today, Tacony is primarily focused on producing embroidery machine parts and accessories such as needles, placement rulers, stabilizers and more, but their machines such as the Tacsew T500 or the Dial N Sew have become best-selling models.

Bernina

Bernina International AG is an international manufacturer, focused on embroidery and sewing systems. Founded in 1893., in Steckborn, Switzerland, the company is most famous by the invention of the hemstitch sewing machine. A man named Karl Friedrich Gegauf invented it in 1893., and ever since then, Bernina has been one of the best known companies within the industry, in Europe and around the world.

Bernina is entirely focused on the textile market and household sewing-related products. This is the reason their embroidery and sewing machines are so popular on electronic commerce websites such as Amazon. They have produced a wide variety of different machines and, although primarily meant for home use, they are often considered high end and semi-professional.

The Bernina factories are in Switzerland and in Thailand and the Bernina Textile Group (a group of 15 textile companies, spread over 80 different countries). The company is perhaps most famous for selling embroidery designs on embroideryonline.com – the most popular website of its kind on the world wide web.

Viking

Viking Sewing Machines (or VSM Group AB), previously named Husqvarna Sewing Machines is based in the city of Huskvarna, Sweden.

Founded in 1872., this company is famous for producing computerized sewing and embroidery machines. Although they have produced a line of traditional (mechanical) machines, their computerized machines have left the mark on the market and are perhaps responsible for the company’s fame today. We’ve already reviewed a couple of their products, and even though they’re quite unusual and unique, they’re typically a great combination of modern technology and more traditional features found in mechanical machines.

In 2006., the company was bought by Kohlberg & Co. Kohlberg & Co is already owned by Singer, so Singer and VSM Group have been merged into a single company named SVP Worldwide. Their headquarters are in Hamilton, Bermuda and the initials SVP reflect the brands Singer, Viking and Pfaff.